BIZERTE, Tunisia - After running the length of Africa, British extreme athlete Russ Cook said he only considered quitting once during his near year-long odyssey - after he got kidnapped in the Congo by a gang armed with machetes.

"The scariest moment was in the Congo, when I was on the back of a motorbike, thinking I was about to die, getting driven into the jungle. That was pretty nuts," the 27-year-old told reporters.